IT’S Mothers’ Day, a mawkish time of year made no less so by the news that “Kate McCann prays for the people who took her daughter Madeleine”.

Only a nutcase cannot feel sympathy for innocent Kate McCann. But the media-fed care is superficial. We pretend to empathise. We just stare and gossip. It’s entertainment. And we can form our views about Kate McCann. Do you like her? Does she irritate you? Do you dislike her? And you can have an opinion because the McCanns have invited us in. She is an emotional exhibit.

Do you link Mothers’ Day, a thing created by companies to flog stuff in between seasons of giving, with the creation of Brand McCann, with their advisors, wristbands, slogans, PR man and ear to power?

Instead of listening to the woman robbed of her child, does one part of us think the presentation too slick to make the McCanns likeable? The McCanns are innocent. They are doing all they can to find their daughter and keep her name in the public conscience. But the PR offensive is relentless.

We know what Kate McCann prayers for because she’s on Aled Jones’ Radio 2 show giving the listeners a slice of pain and emotion to kick start their day. Says she:

“I pray for lots of things now. Obviously I always pray for the family, obviously most of the prayers are centred on Madeleine.

“But I pray for the people who have taken Madeleine, the people who know what’s happened to Madeleine and the people around and related to the person who’s taken Madeleine.”

Having been repeatedly invited to watch the parents, we are now invited to imagine their thoughts.

“I pray for the police and the investigators, the people who are looking for her. And I pray for all the other children who are missing or have been exploited in some way.”

Kate McCanns prayers are with you. If we could see Kate McCann, the BBC would wrap her in soft focus, dress her in a blue cloak and sell her image as a religious artefact.

“These are the times when I go off to church, to be honest. I’ve got a key to the church – they’ve kindly given me one. Sometimes I’ll go in – it’s a bit of a sanctuary, a bit of a refuge. I’ll go and I can speak out, because obviously there’s no one there, just get it all off my chest, really.”

There is not no-one there. We the listeners are there. We are invited to gawp into the sanctuary. And we lap it up, enjoying what Philip Roth called “the ecstasy of sanctimony”.

Fantastic article. She does appear to have become an emotional exhibit.

Why do they need so much publicity it seems so sad to me. I can almost imagine a new ITV2 programme on the lines of Jade Goody, but the McCanns are the stars.

That’s awful I know but it’s become a total circus.

I can’t imagine what Madeleine must have felt the night she was left alone and was ‘taken’. My heart goes out to that poor child. She really is lost in all of this.

chenier

The oddest thing is that she says ‘obviously there’s no one there’.

It’s a church; God is there…

eggman

OMG Jennifer, hope no one at ITV reads your post. Otherwise, it could be “What Kate and Gerry did next”…..
I agree, my heart goes out to Madeleine. Hope she’s safe and well.

lyn

Looks like this is the latest media wrap to try to get public attention away from the fact the the McCanns left Madeleine alone with two little kids. Any other parents who had done this sort of thing would be up before the courts and charged and it is awfully odd that this couple have not been ticked off.

Paul, Leicestershire

No matter how hard their PR team try, they just can’t sell this product…

Fully Secured Bank Funded Pigeon

Pass me the sick bucket….

Trismegistus

If you are a religious person, you would never consider a church empty. God’s presence is part and parcel of the whole concept…

thatpoorpriest

No wonder she had to leave work ~ how could she find the time, when it’s all taken up with praying for everyone including all the police, all missing or exploited children, her family, uncle Tom Cobley and all…..

Anyway, she also said that in the last year she has felt a lot better. Well that timescale matches with Goncalo Amaral’s book, so it must have done her some good then. Doesn’t have an excuse now, for saying the book made her more depressed.

she is classic, we can always count on her to give the game away.

she is very careless with her kids, and her credit cards, and her mobile phone records, so I’m surprised anyone would give her the keys to a church. There must be loads of valuables inside.